The Key to Victory
by TheManTimeForgot
Summary: Part 8 of The Nexus Crusade. Nero, Helen and their old foe must find a way back to the only people who can help them...
1. Chapter 1

In some parts of the multiverse, the light does not give its warmth and darkness has a eternal grip on these areas. Such a place was where three strangers now found themselves walking through. One of them, a woman of piercing white, looked dim and muted in this place.

"What place did those goddesses send us, Nero?" She said.

Nero, nearly invisible in his already dark armor came up behind her. "I do not think this was their doing Helen." He replied. "Someone must have hijacked their spell and made it come out here."

An audible growl came from their new guest, moving past them and scanning ahead at a rocky expanse. Holding his blue cloak with one hand and a halberd in the other, he turned to the two.

"Either way, we must press on," Epsilon proclaimed. "If our enemy wants us dead, then lets not give her the pleasure."

Marching ahead the three then entered a grey forest, the wind whistling through every branch they crossed. Through here however, they were not alone. All of them could hear a warble that surrounded them, but could not find the source.

"Epsilon," Helen whispered. "Since this was your idea, is there anything you have that could help us out?'

Epsilon released a quick flash of light from the tip of his weapon and in its presence, a band of floating black and red humanoids clutching massive blades were revealed. In response to their ambush failing, they immediately attacked. Helen and Epsilon responded with thrusts, but their strikes only passed through the creatures.

"That's not going to work!" Nero said. "Rely on energy based attacks!" With this new information they worked in tandem and soon the enemies were crushed, the last one fleeing. Epsilon created another burst of light and when nothing happened, he leaned on a nearby tree.

"What were those things?"

"They are called 'Heartless'," Nero walked past him, into a clearing. "Creatures of darkness, they drift along in the shadows consuming the hearts of humans."

"They eat hearts?"

"I use the term as a replacement for the soul. The Heartless themselves are hearts corrupted by negative emotion, the 'darkness' that surrounds us."

"You don't have to explain how the universe works," Helen said. "Just tell us how to kill them."

"You don't." Nero stood around a handle embedded into the ground. "The bodies might be destroyed, but the heart itself needs to be dealt with. Only one weapon can do that."

"And what would that be?" As Epsilon spoke the last Heartless materialized behind him, ready to cut him down. Nero grabbed the handle, and a giant silver key with a yellow handle sprung out of the earth. Nero hurled it at the Heartless, and it evaporated when it was hit, leaving a pink heart to float away.

"This weapon: the Keyblade." Nero grabbed the thing as it came around. "In reality its function is no different from a normal key, but on the spiritual scale. Warriors used this device to fight the Heartless across the universe once."

"Would you mind if I held it?" Epsilon inquired. Nero obliged, giving the Keyblade to him, but as soon as it was in his hands, it disappeared and returned to Nero.

"What gives?"

"Let me see…" Nero then gave it to Helen, who had no trouble wielding it. Epsilon was stunned into silence.

"The Keyblade is a empathic weapon, one of the most haphazard I've ever heard about," Nero explained. "It chooses its user based on the strength of their heart, not by its purity." Nero summoned it back to himself. "It should have chosen you, if I were to be completely honest."

"Well it didn't, so-" Epsilon was cut off by the sound of a far off battle. Rushing to the location, they saw a armored person who also had a Keyblade slowly be overwhelmed by Heartless. Epsilon began to move in but Nero held him back.

"It wouldn't be a smart idea for you to get mixed up in this."

"True…" Epsilon admitted. "Then again you are the one with the Keyblade."

Nero groaned. "Fine, just cover me." He then ran out to aid the person while the others handled the reinforcements. With the additional help the Heartless were beaten. The stranger's armor featureless hued blue and purple with a yellow hemisphere on the side of the right elbow. Touching it retracted the armor, and a woman was under it. Fatigued but still standing, she looked upon her rescuers.

"Thanks, I wouldn't have lasted much longer."

"No problem, Aqua," Nero responded. "There isn't much help to be found here."

"How did you know my name?"

"I've studied many things in my leisure. Guys, come here!" Nero gathered Epsilon and Helen to him. "This is Aqua, one of only three Keyblade Masters in existence!"

Aqua stepped back in shock. "Wait, what do you mean by three Masters?"

Nero's face was serious as he looked to her. "Yen Sid has given a young boy the Mark of Mastery. You will be needed back in the light soon."

As Aqua began to interpret his words, there was a rumble in the trees as they bent and cracked under the force of a giant Heartless. It stood over them and plunged its hand into the ground. From it sprung swarms of smaller Heartless with razor sharp claws and bright yellow eyes. As they piled in, Nero got in front to face it.

"We can handle this, get going!" He shouted. Aqua ran away, and the visitors were left to fight. Epsilon began to bash his way through in order to reach the source, but was soon enveloped by shadow. Helen right behind him, glanced down at where he was as she fought next to Nero, who was cutting down everything with the mystic sword.

"Why'd you force her away?" She asked.

"She's too important to waste her time here."

"Well, I don't feel like dying here!"

"We won't! Not to this thing!" He called out.

Epsilon on the other hand, could only see black as the creatures slashed and clawed at him. At the same time, his soul grew colder as despair gained a hold of it.

_"No!" _He thought. _"There has to be a way to crush them! I just need more power…"_

His mind suddenly flashed to his necklace. Focusing on it, the center jewel shone with light and the shadows were burnt away by its radiance. His armor frosted over, and his eyes were a clear blue. By his side were two young angels, with a wing each on opposite sides of their back. With a violent swing of his hand, the wrist of the giant hand froze solid, and with a stroke of his halberd the hand shattered. Nero and Helen looked onward, Nero especially was in awe at Epsilon's renewed vigor.

"Epsilon, take it!" Nero threw the Keyblade to him. Grabbing the hilt, it reformed into a edge of sweeping ice but still having the distinctive look of a key. Leaping up to meet eye to eye with this monster, Epsilon came down upon it, splitting it in two. The Heartless fell, melting away and freeing a massive heart from inside it. Drifting back down he gave the Keyblade back to Nero.

"Who are your new friends?" Helen asked, scanning the angels.

"Cool Mint and Spear Mint," Were the words that Nero managed to get out. "The twin angels of Lind!"

"Angels?"

"Every goddess has a personal angel. Lind is peculiar in the fact that she has two. I thought she just gave him a basic booster, but she trusted Epsilon enough to lend him those two for quite some time. And he can sustain them…we might have something here."

Epsilon dismissed Lind's angels and grabbed Nero's shoulder. "What does this mean?"

"It means that between your power, and the combined knowledge of me and Victor, we might have a chance as long as we survive long enough to get together."

"Shouldn't we help this new Keyblade Master as well?"

"He's got enough help," Nero said, walking away. "If they can't see him through they should have used Plan B."


	2. Strength of Heven and Hell

"Epsilon, I really need that necklace."

"You can't have it."

Nero was furiously pacing around Epsilon, who was practicing the techniques he learned from Lind. His skill with his polearm had steadily improved, and with it his sense of purpose. The necklace Lind gave him held a phenomenal power that the genetics expert had a great interest in.

"I know we've haven't been friendly to one another, but we need to get past that. Whatever is in that thing needs to be deciphered before you use that thing again."

"Like I would give such an item to you." Epsilon pointed the spearhead at him. "I won't let you twist the work of such noble creatures to any end of yours."

"Stop being so petty!" Helen grabbed Epsilon and lifted him off the ground. Fire was in her red eye and her free hand gripped her claymore. "I don't need to know what this 'Hild' is to know that it has a hold we can't shake alone."

"She is a interdimisional being, not bound to just her realm." Nero said. "If we are as interesting to her as I fear, even if we made it home we would not be safe. We need to know what we have here if we want to stand a chance."

Epsilon relented and Helen set him back down. With a brief moment of focus the necklace glowed, this time splitting into five pieces, each one transformed into different kinds of feathers. Nero walked around the feathers looking at each one turn.

"So, it seems like the workaround Lind used was to give you the feathers of each angel, thus reducing the energy needed to summon them. She seems to have covered her bases, typical of a Valkyrie of her class."

Helen flashed a shrewd look. "So do you know who these angels are?"

Nero eyes gleamed at hearing the question. "Of course I do, Victor wouldn't shut up about it." He gestured to a set of perfectly symmetrical feathers. "Those are the ones you saw previously: Cool Mint and Spear Mint. Lind's angels would give sound tactical advice and skill in physical combat."

"Not to mention the ice."

"Indeed," Nero looked to the next feather, a single feather that coursed with wind.

"Holy Bell, Belldandy's own…"

"You sound amazed." Epsilon folded his arms.

"Belldandy is perhaps the epitome of what it means to be a goddess. You would be given purity of mind and a bulwark against evil."

Helen stood next to a similar feather. "I think her rival says otherwise."

"You were able to identify Gorgeous Rose, I'm impressed. Peorth has a massive amount of spell power, and her angel will grant endurance as well as sight beyond the surface of anyone you might encounter."

"And the little one?" Inquired Epsilon.

"That is Skuld's Noble Scarlet. Since Skuld works more with machines than magic, its untapped pontential is its greatest asset."

"And that leaves one.." Nero drew the others to the last set of feathers, equal in size but as one was white, the other was jet black.

"It's Urd's…" Epsilon head hung low with regret.

"World of Elegance has always shown Urd's true nature. This one has the most power by far, but I wouldn't recommend using it, it's quite unstable."

"Weren't you the one telling me to embrace the dark as well as the light like she could?"

"Yes, but this is too much to bear even for her. The abilities of both gods and demons reside here; accept the demonic and there's no telling what will become of you."

Helen looked over to Nero. "Why give this guy so much power?"

"I'm not sure, but we have to go back eventually, and we'll get the answers then."


	3. The Dangers of Gummi Space

"Another portal, another dark place," Helen sighed. "Any ideas on where we've ended up now?"

"A cargo hold on a ship." Epsilon stated. "I've been in one, and I don't think we'll be as welcome this time."

"You two stay here while I find out more about this vessel." Nero took the first exit he could find and ended up in a hallway. Sneaking past a few passers by, he saw them wearing the uniforms of a organized navy, but none he was familiar with. Climbing to the upper decks he found a window to look out of; the window showed a view of a multicolored starscape, which stunned the man of shadows.

_"A starship…well isn't that just great? I'll need coordinates, which I can find with the captain."_

Making it to the Captain's Cabin, he heard a conversation on the other side and stopped to listen in.

* * *

"So are all shipment runs this boring?" Asked a young man.

"Don't worry Mister Hawkins," A lady sounding prim and proper answered back. "A slow shipment is one the entire crew can come home from in one piece. I've seen enough raids and bandits to fill several careers, and I could do with one less."

"Hey, I understand where you're coming from, but I spent the last year in the Academy studying and I didn't think my first time back out here would be like this."

"Well, in any matter it's nice to have you back on the Legacy. These routes haven't been used in quite some time and the destination will prove to be interesting. I don't remember the last time we traded with the Galactic Alliance, so pay attention."

"Aye Captain."

* * *

Nero hid on the other side of the bulkhead as the cadet opened it. Hawkins looked a little rough for someone his age, with brown hair tied into a ponytail. As Nero moved back from the door he bumped into another person which caused him to turn around. He was humanoid with a few canine features in his ears, nose, and hands.

"I-I'm dreadfully sorry sir, I just need to speak to the captain…" While he was talking Nero began to unsheathe one of his kopesh blades, which didn't go unnoticed. Nero also saw something: a child the alien was carrying that made him hesitate.

"Doc!" A shout from the back and the hurried running from Hawkins got Nero to move. He slipped the tackle and made a break for it with security in pursuit. Along a hallway he ran into Helen and Epsilon, and they ran together.

"What went wrong?"

"_We _stayed hidden, then the alarms sounded." Helen explained. "So this happened because _you_ screwed up."

"Does this happen often?" Wondered Epsilon.

"Only when you're around Travis." They ran out onto the deck and into a horde of yellow robots with blasters for hands. Leading them was a man in a purple and red pressurized suit with green detailing resembling a scowl. Besides his left arm being completely mechanical and his blue skin he was human. He held a gun at them and had a wide smirk on his face.

"Welcome to the Galactic Alliance; the name's Warp Darkmatter, and I'll be your tour guide. Now would you please allow my Hornets to escort you to the brig, and we'll get underway."


End file.
